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Seven Welsh sporting moments to cherish in 2012

Scott Williams' score was a big part of Wales winning a third Grand Slam in eight years Photo: David Jones / PA Archive / Press Association Images

Richard Morgan is ITV Wales' Sports Correspondent. He fronted our coverage of London 2012 from the Olympic Park in London.

Scott Williams' try against England

Twickenham. February 25th 2012. Wales huffed and puffed as they chased their first Triple Crown on English soil in years. Then Scarlets centre Scott Williams ripped the ball from Courtney Lawes, chipped forward and won the race for the line. In the press box at HQ, journalistic impartiality went out of the window... again.

Cardiff City at Wembley

Brilliance from Ben Turner to level the scores after the Bluebirds had gone behind against mighty Liverpool. Then the agony of extra time and penalties. Cardiff's history of glorious defeat at the home of English football continues, but the fans were rightly proud of the performance.

Jade Jones at the Olympics

Taekwondo? Really? If the Welsh sporting public didn't know much about this martial art at the beginning of the year, by August we were all experts. I wasn't lucky enough to be at the ExCel Arena when Jade clinched her gold, but I'll never forget dancing wildly around my flat in Cardiff when the moment came. And the celebrations in Flint were pretty special, too.

Not so much a moment, but a double dose of sporting gold. For two fortnight spells in August and September, the country came to a standstill as the Olympics and Paralympics came to London. What an atmosphere, what togetherness, what a personal privilege to be there for some of it.

Swansea 1 - 0 Manchester City

The 'noisy neighbours' may eventually have secured Premier League glory, but they were hushed at the Liberty Stadium.There were so many high points in Swansea's first top flight season, but my personal favourite has to be the late, Luke Moore-inspired, victory over the champions-to-be.

The Red Revolution

Ok, so not exactly an on-field moment, but the hoo-hah surrounding Cardiff's switch from blue to red shirts provided the year's best row. The move by the club's Malaysian owners unleashed a tidal wave of indignation. But all the talk of souls being sold ended when the Bluebirds made a scintillating start to the season and looked poised for promotion to the Premier League.

The Bluebirds have quickly become at home in red - winning their first 10 league games at the Cardiff City Stadium Credit: Neal Simpson / EMPICS Sport

Cryotherapy

Apart from winning Wales a Grand Slam and nearly a World Cup, this sci-fi therapy took me into hitherto unknown areas of pain when I tried it. The chilly process involves being immersed in liquid nitrogen fumes while standing in a shower cubicle. I managed two minutes. One minute less than the rugby lads and, more embarrassingly, the Polish pensioners who swear by it.

Richard had a go in a cryotherapy chamber used by Welsh players to speed up their recovery Credit: ITV News Wales

On Boxing Day, our Business Correspondent Carole Green writes about the Welsh economy in 2012.